FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the month of April 2004
Commission File Number 000-28966
Biacore International AB (publ)
C/o Biacore International SA
Puits-Godet 12
CH-2000 Neuchatel
Switzerland
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports
under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F X
Form 40-F
Indicate by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in this
Form, the registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934.
Yes
No X
If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant
in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): Not applicable.
INTERIM REPORT JANUARY - MARCH 2004
* Biacore's sales in the first quarter of 2004 amounted to SEK 95.3 million
(106.5), a decline by 11%. Excluding the impact of exchange rates, sales
increased by 2%. Encouragingly, the Americas saw its second quarter of
positive sales development, as early-stage drug discovery customers resumed
instrument purchases. This positive trend was also seen in Europe. The
reported sales decline was entirely due to a disruption in purchasing patterns
caused by a reorganization and de-centralization of academic research in
Japan.
* Biacore's earnings per share in the first quarter of 2004 were SEK 0.27
(0.77), a decrease of 65% due to lower sales.
* The Company is completing the development of its new SPR array technology with
the first of the novel systems based on this technology due to be introduced
in the latter part of this year.
* The Board of Biacore has decided to take the steps necessary to de-list the
Company's ADRs from Nasdaq National Market in the United States. A time plan
for this process is now in place with the de-listing expected to take place on
May 21, 2004.
* The Board has decided to recommend to today's Annual General Meeting an
unchanged dividend payment for the financial year 2003 of SEK 3.00 per share.
* Biacore maintains its previous outlook for the full-year 2004: The current
market and currency conditions make an accurate sales forecast for 2004
difficult. However, Biacore expects sales and earnings per share for the
full-year 2004 to increase. As always, sales and earnings are likely to vary
substantially between quarters.
January - March
2004 2003 Change
Sales, SEK million 95.3 106.5 -11%
Operating income, SEK million 1.8 4.1 -56%
Operating margin, % 2 4
Income after financial items, SEK million 3.3 9.0 -63%
Net income, SEK million 2.6 7.5 -65%
Diluted earnings per share, SEK 0.27 0.77 -65%
Operational Review January - March 2004
Amounts stated in this report pertain to the Biacore Group, unless indicated
otherwise. Figures in parentheses refer to the corresponding period in 2003.
The recovery of Biacore's sales in the Americas, which started in the fourth
quarter of 2003, continued into the first quarter of 2004. Encouragingly, sales
also increased in Europe in the first quarter after a weak second half-year of
2003. In both of these markets, the sales improvements were entirely due to
Biacore's industrial customer base. Unfortunately, the growing evidence of
recovery in these two markets was more than offset by a large sales reduction in
the Asia-Pacific region. This was caused by a number of structural changes in
the Japanese market. As a result, total sales in the first quarter of 2004
declined by 11% to SEK 95.3 million (106.5). Excluding currency effects sales
increased by 2%.
Biacore(r)3000 remains the Company's best-selling system and is particularly
important for academic customers due to its broad range of applications. During
the first quarter of 2004, sales of this system to industrial customers active
in early-stage drug discovery in the Americas and Europe also showed good
growth. Demand from this market segment was very weak during most of 2003. Sales
of Biacore(r)3000 with the new GxP package developed very well. This combination
is used in the clinical trials of bio-therapeutics to capture important data
including immunogenicity.
Sales were divided geographically as follows:
January-March
SEK million 2004 2003 Change
Americas 48.0 41.2 17%
Europe 34.3 30.9 11%
Asia-Pacific 13.0 34.4 -62%
In the Americas, sales increased by 17%. This follows a 9% increase in the
fourth quarter of 2003. In Europe, first quarter sales increased by 11%, a
significant improvement on the sales trend that characterized the second half of
2003. The sharp sales decline seen in Asia-Pacific was largely due to a
reorganization and de-centralization of academic research in Japan, Biacore's
key customer group in this region. This reorganization resulted in delayed
purchasing decisions as well as a reallocation of funds that were previously
used for the purchase of research equipment. In addition, research grants that
are normally released in the so called supplementary budget towards the fiscal
year-end were this time allocated to the defense area rather than biotechnology.
Biacore's sales performance in Asia-Pacific in the first quarter of 2004 does
not reflect any loss of market share, as all suppliers of high-ticket scientific
equipment faced similar problems in Japan.
The 75% (77) gross margin was lower than in prior periods due to the decline in
sales.
Total costs for marketing, administration and research and development decreased
by 4% in the first quarter of 2004 to SEK 69.8 million (72.5). During this
period, marketing and sales costs decreased by 2% to SEK 37.9 million (38.6),
while administration costs fell by 16% to SEK 12.9 million (15.4).
R&D spending in the first quarter amounted to SEK 35.7 million (30.4). Of this
amount, SEK 17.4 million (11.9) was capitalized. The amount capitalized is
largely related to the Company completing the development of its new SPR array
system which is due to be launched later this year.
Due to lower sales, operating income declined by 56% to SEK 1.8 million (4.1).
The operating margin in the first quarter was 2% (4). Operating currency
differences during the period amounted to SEK 1.7 million (-4.5). Financial
items in the first quarter of 2003 include a reversal of the write-down of
SEK 2.7 million of shares in Diffchamb subsequently sold.
The effective tax rate for the period was 24% (18) of income after financial
items.
Net income for the first quarter of 2004 was SEK 2.6 million (7.5), giving
diluted earnings per share of SEK 0.27 (0.77).
Capital Expenditures
During the first three months of 2004, capital expenditures totaled SEK 1.6
million (3.6).
Personnel
At the end of March 2004, Biacore had 343 (334) permanent employees.
Business Review
Biacore is the global leader in the commercialization of surface plasmon
resonance (SPR) technology. SPR-based systems from Biacore are used world-wide
for the real-time detection and monitoring of biomolecular binding interactions.
The Company's key customers include world-leading academic life science
laboratories, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, as well as the food
industry and government testing facilities.
There is growing evidence that the difficulties that Biacore encountered in the
U.S. market through most of 2003 have now come to an end. During this period,
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies reduced their purchases of
early-stage drug discovery capital equipment to an absolute minimum. However, in
the fourth quarter of 2003, Biacore saw the first signs that the American
industry had resumed investments in systems for the identification and
validation of target molecules, and this trend has continued into 2004.
Encouragingly, increasing investment from this customer group was also seen in
Europe.
Biacore believes that its broad product range, which is able to meet the
application needs of both academic and industrial research customers, allied to
the Company's direct sales presence in all important markets throughout the
world give it one of the strongest positions in the bio-analytical instrument
market. In view of the large potential for its SPR systems, Biacore remains very
positive about its longer-term prospects and is confident that its planned
increased investment in sales and marketing will also contribute to the
Company's growth.
Academic Customers - Our Strong Core Business
Academic life science research laboratories have been Biacore's most important
customer group since the Company was founded. Biacore has sold SPR based systems
to all of the world's leading life science institutions. The important role that
Biacore's systems play in academic research is highlighted by the fact that more
than 3,200 peer-reviewed scientific papers have been published based on research
using the Company's SPR systems. Thanks to this strong position, the decline in
demand seen in recent quarters from important segments of the industrial market
has been compensated to a considerable degree by continued purchases from
Biacore's academic customers.
Biacore's SPR technology can help solve many of the important problems faced by
academic scientists working on a better understanding of the molecular causes of
disease. The research areas where Biacore is continuing to demonstrate that its
technology is in the position to deliver the most value include Cancer,
Neuroscience and Immunology and Infectious Diseases. In addition, Biacore has
succeeded in building the profile of its technology in another key area of life
science research, Proteomics, where the Company is increasingly being recognized
as a global leader. In the field of functional proteomics, a rapidly growing
market, there are three areas where Biacore's SPR systems have clear competitive
advantages, ligand fishing, protein-protein interactions and integration with
Mass Spectrometry through automated recovery and preparation of bound analytes.
Taken together, these areas play a crucial role in helping researchers develop a
clear understanding of disease processes as well as identifying potential new
drug candidates.
The Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industries - Increasingly Important Markets
In recent years, a key element of Biacore's strategy has been to increase the
utilization of its SPR technology-based systems by pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies to discover and develop better drugs for the treatment
of a wide range of diseases. In order to achieve this goal, Biacore has
introduced a number of systems which are designed to meet the specific needs of
the drug development process. Unfortunately, due to the industry's reduced
investment in early-stage drug discovery in 2003, the financial benefits of this
strategy have taken longer to materialize than originally envisaged.
Biacore(r)S51 - Building A Business in Lead Optimization
Biacore continues to establish Biacore(r)S51 as a key tool for pharmaceutical
and biotechnology customers, addressing critical bottlenecks in the drug
discovery process downstream of high-throughput screening (HTS), particularly in
the area of lead optimization. Biacore(r)S51 is gradually establishing its
position in this segment of the market based on its ability to provide more
relevant biological information on compound activity, in a single assay, than
any other technology available today.
Given the progress that has been made with Biacore(r)S51 since its launch,
Biacore is confident that it will become a major contributor to the Company's
future sales growth. This confidence is also based on the growing appreciation
of the product from the market as new customer-generated data highlighting the
benefits of using Biacore(r)S51 become increasingly available.
Biacore(r)3000 GxP Package - Key to the Bio-Therapeutics Revolution
Biacore's GxP package, which was launched in the spring of 2003 and which is
used in conjunction with Biacore(r)3000, has been well received by
pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers. This new combination has been
designed to facilitate pharmaceutical companies' compliance with regulatory
requirements and will complement Biacore(r)C, launched in 2001 for rapid
concentration analysis in drug development, manufacturing quality control and
in-process control applications.
A key application of the Biacore(r)3000 GxP Package will be in the clinical
trials of the new wave of biological therapeutics, including antibodies, which
are already and will continue to be a major source of growth for the
pharmaceutical industry. The new combination will play a key role in capturing
vital data during these clinical trials such as the therapeutic product's
immunogenicity.
This new application is expected to provide an important source of growth for
Biacore, given the large number of new biological therapeutics which are being
developed by both pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around the world. A
major advantage of using an SPR assay to measure specific antibody levels in the
blood of clinical trial patients is that no special purification is needed. This
enhances both the speed and reproducibility of the results generated.
Food Analysis - Complementing Business with Potential
Biacore's food analysis business has made good progress with rapid consecutive
releases of its proprietary Qflex(r) kits for beta agonists, sulphonamides and
chloramphenicol, all residues considered harmful in the food chain. These kits
in conjunction with the dedicated food analysis platform, Biacore(r)Q, are
gaining acceptance by food regulators and food production companies. This is
further evidenced by the growing presence of the technology both in Asia and in
Europe. Biacore(r)Q is being used for applications such as routine testing of
poultry and analyses of vitamins by some of the world's leading dairy product
and vitamin producers.
This market segment also offers considerable longer-term recurrent revenues
through kit sales.
SPR Array Technology - Expanding Our Commercial Opportunities
Biacore is determined to build on the strong SPR-based business that it has
established over the last thirteen years. In order to achieve this, the Company
is working on a number of important technological breakthroughs in SPR detection
and micro-fluidics that form the basis for the development of its new SPR array
system.
This system, which is on track to reach the market in the second half of 2004,
will be able to deliver a significant improvement in the speed with which
information on interactions between proteins and other molecules can be
generated. Delivering the same high sensitivity and data quality that the
Company's customers currently enjoy and require, this new platform will enable
Biacore's SPR technology to be used across a broader range of applications in
both basic life science research and drug discovery with a higher throughput and
information content than is possible today.
To commercialize its SPR array technology, Biacore has utilized two
collaborations to develop specific applications and gain access to reagent
expertise. These collaborations with Millennium Pharmaceuticals and BD
Biosciences Pharmingen have enabled Biacore to develop the critical elements of
the system's specification so that it meets the demands of its targeted
end-users. The planned end of the collaboration with Millennium in the summer of
2003 has allowed Biacore to extend the number of pharmaceutical customers with
whom it can work to generate additional applications.
Initially the SPR array system will be targeted at applications in two key
areas:
* Interaction proteomics, which is of significant interest to academic customers
given the importance of understanding exactly how proteins interact as part of
elucidating the causes of disease.
* Post-HTS small molecule characterization areas, where its sensitivity,
increased throughput and high information content will complement
Biacore(r)S51 in lead optimization applications.
Over time, the Company expects the SPR array system to have applications across
the spectrum of drug discovery and development activities and be a valuable tool
in many proteomics applications.
Maximizing The Potential of Our SPR Business
Biacore has decided to re-focus and to increase its investment in the sales and
marketing activities needed to support its SPR-based systems, especially towards
the late-stage drug discovery customers. This decision has been made based on
the attractive prospects that the Company sees for its current and developing
product portfolio and in particular for the enhanced commercial opportunities
that can be accessed via its new SPR array system.
Amongst the key areas in which Biacore expects higher sales are:
* The Company's core life science research customers as Biacore's SPR technology
gains even greater recognition in the field of functional proteomics.
* The new applications of the Biacore(r)3000, including the new GxP package
which has taken Biacore into the fast growing bio-therapeutics clinical trials
market.
* Its systems dedicated to late-stage drug discovery customers in the
pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, Biacore(r)S51 for "hit to
lead"-selection and Biacore(r)C for quality control applications.
* The significant commercial potential of the first system being developed based
on Biacore's novel SPR array technology, which will be targeted initially at
functional proteomics and post-HTS small molecule characterization by the
pharmaceutical industry.
De-Listing From Nasdaq
The Board of Biacore has decided to take steps to de-list the Company's ADRs
from Nasdaq National Market in the United States. A time plan for this process
is now in place with the de-listing expected to take place on May 21, 2004.
Accounting Principles
This interim report has been prepared in accordance with the Swedish Financial
Accounting Standards Council's Statement No. 20 (RR20) Interim Financial
Reporting. In 2004, the Council's Statement No. 29 (RR29) Employee Benefits,
which includes a new method for calculating provisions for pensions, became
effective. As of December 31, 2003, this standard has reduced shareholders'
equity by SEK 4.8 million. Net income in the first quarter of 2004 was only
marginally affected by the new standard.
Quarterly Sales Variations
Biacore's total sales during the period 2001-2003 were split between quarters as
follows:
Quarter 1 23% Quarter 3 22%
Quarter 2 25% Quarter 4 30%
Dividend
The Board has decided to recommend to the Annual General Meeting an unchanged
dividend payment for the financial year 2003 of SEK 3.00 per share.
Outlook for the Full-Year 2004
Biacore maintains its previous outlook for the full-year 2004: The current
market and currency conditions make an accurate sales forecast for 2004
difficult. However, Biacore expects sales and earnings per share for the
full-year 2004 to increase. As always, sales and earnings are likely to vary
substantially between quarters.
Uppsala, Sweden, April 28, 2004
Biacore International AB (publ)
Ulf Jonsson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Review Report
We have carried out a review of this interim report in accordance with the
recommendation issued by FAR (the Institute for the Accountancy Profession in
Sweden). A review is significantly limited in comparison with an audit.
Nothing has come to our attention which would cause us to believe that the
interim report does not meet the requirements of the (Swedish) Securities
Exchange and Annual Accounts Acts.
Stockholm, April 28, 2004
PricewaterhouseCoopers AB
Goran Tidstrom Sten Hakansson
Authorized Public Accountant Authorized Public Accountant
Financial Information
During 2004, Biacore plans to release its interim reports as follows:
January - June Monday, July 19
January - September Thursday, October 21
Biacore is a global market leader in Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technology
based systems with its own sales operations in the U.S., across Europe, Japan,
Australia and New Zealand. A strong patent portfolio protects Biacore's SPR
technology. Target groups for the Company's products consist primarily of
medical and life science research laboratories and pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies around the world. Biacore is focusing on drug discovery
and development as its prime areas for future growth. Based in Uppsala, Sweden,
the Company is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in the U.S.
This report contains certain forward-looking statements which, by their nature,
involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on
circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that
could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
Biacore International AB (publ)
Company registration number: 556534-5211
Head office
Biacore International SA, Puits-Godet 12, CH-2000 Neuchatel, Switzerland
Phone +41 32 720 9000
info(at)biacore.com
www.biacore.com
Biacore Consolidated Income Statements
January-March Full year
SEK million 2004 2003 Change 2003
Sales 95.3 106.5 -11% 515.5
Cost of sales -24.3 -24.3 0% -94.0
Marketing -37.9 -38.6 -2% -165.4
Administration -12.9 -15.4 -16% -71.1
Research and development -19.0 -18.5 3% -78.6
Other income and expenses 1.6 -4.6 -14.4
Amortization of goodwill -1.0 -1.0 -4.0
Items affecting comparability - - -58.5
Operating income 1.8 4.1 -56% 29.5
Financial items, net 1.5 4.9 11.9
Income after financial items 3.3 9.0 -63% 41.4
Income taxes -0.8 -1.6 2.9
Minority interest 0.1 0.1 -
Net income 2.6 7.5 44.3
Basic earnings per share, SEK 0.27 0.77 4.55
Diluted earnings per share, SEK 0.27 0.77 4.53
No. of shares, average, diluted, thousands 9,772 9,770 9,787
Net income 2.6 7.5 44.3
Stock options issued - - 1.1
Change in accounting principles,
RR29 Employee Benefits - -4.8 -4.8
Dividend - - -29.3
Currency translation differences 7.0 -4.4 -20.6
Change in shareholders' equity 9.6 -1.7 -9.3
Quarterly Income Statements
1Q 4Q 3Q 2Q 1Q
SEK million 2004 2003 2003 2003 2003
Sales 95.3 160.8 105.7 142.5 106.5
Cost of sales -24.3 -22.5 -18.4 -28.8 -24.3
Marketing -37.9 -45.2 -38.5 -43.1 -38.6
Administration -12.9 -17.2 -19.7 -18.8 -15.4
Research and development -19.0 -21.9 -18.9 -19.3 -18.5
Other income and expenses 1.6 -4.5 -2.1 -3.2 -4.6
Amortization of goodwill -1.0 -1.0 -1.0 -1.0 -1.0
Items affecting comparability - 6.2 -64.7 - -
Operating income 1.8 54.7 -57.6 28.3 4.1
Financial items, net 1.5 2.3 1.5 3.2 4.9
Income after financial items 3.3 57.0 -56.1 31.5 9.0
Income taxes -0.8 -1.5 10.6 -4.6 -1.6
Minority interest 0.1 -0.1 - - 0.1
Net income 2.6 55.4 -45.5 26.9 7.5
Basic earnings per share, SEK 0.27 5.69 -4.67 2.76 0.77
Diluted earnings per share, SEK 0.27 5.67 -4.67 2.75 0.77
No. of shares, average, diluted, thousands 9,772 9,767 9,750 9,773 9,770
Sales by region
1Q 4Q 3Q 2Q 1Q
SEK million 2004 2003 2003 2003 2003
Americas 48.0 69.4 52.8 65.2 41.2
Europe 34.3 43.2 22.6 39.8 30.9
Asia-Pacific 13.0 48.2 30.3 37.5 34.4
95.3 160.8 105.7 142.5 106.5
Biacore Consolidated Balance Sheets
March 31 Dec. 31
SEK million 2004 2003 2003
Intangible assets 86.8 92.7 70.0
Property, plant and equipment 109.7 116.1 111.9
Long-term investments 1.0 10.6 1.0
Other long-term assets 28.3 31.5 25.4
Other current assets 236.4 221.3 260.3
Liquid funds 358.7 361.7 352.5
Total assets 820.9 833.9 821.1
Shareholders' equity 635.0 633.0 625.4
Minority interest 0.7 0.7 0.8
Provisions 87.3 89.1 88.5
Liabilities 97.9 111.1 106.4
Total shareholders' equity and liabilities 820.9 833.9 821.1
Financial structure
Operating capital 307.3 305.0 307.5
Long-term investments 1.0 10.6 1.0
Net interest-bearing assets 309.5 318.3 304.4
Net payable and deferred income tax asset 17.9 -0.2 13.3
Minority interest -0.7 -0.7 -0.8
Shareholders' equity 635.0 633.0 625.4
Biacore Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
January-March Full year
SEK million 2004 2003 2003
Net income 2.6 7.5 44.3
Less: Depreciation and amortization 11.2 7.5 31.8
Less: Write-downs, reversal of
write-downs, gains and losses -4.5 -2.7 44.7
Change in working capital 12.3 16.2 -19.2
Other 3.8 -2.5 -14.9
Cash flows from operating activities 25.4 26.0 86.7
Purchase of intangible assets -17.4 -12.0 -50.1
Purchase of property, plant and equipment -1.6 -3.6 -16.4
Sales of long-term investments - - 11.0
Cash flows from investing activities -19.0 -15.6 -55.5
Borrowing and repayment of loans -0.2 -0.3 -1.0
Dividend - - -29.3
Cash flows from financing activities -0.2 -0.3 -30.3
Net change in liquid funds 6.2 10.1 0.9
Key figures
Operating margin 1.9% 3.8% 5.7%
Return on operating capital 2.3% 5.2% 9.3%
Return on equity 1.7% 4.8% 7.1%
Equity ratio 77% 76% 76%
Shareholders' equity per share, diluted, SEK 64.98 64.79 63.85
No. of shares, thousands 9,750 9,750 9,750
No. of shares, end of period, diluted, thousands 9,772 9,770 9,794
No. of shares, average, diluted, thousands 9,772 9,770 9,787
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS IN BIACORE INTERNATIONAL AB
Uppsala, Sweden, April 28, 2004.
Biacore International AB (Biacore) today announced that today's annual general
meeting was attended by 25 shareholders, representing 53 percent of the total
number of shares and votes in the company.
The meeting decided, in accordance with the board of directors' and the
president's proposal that the non-restricted equity in the parent company at the
meeting's disposal, in total SEK 137,021 thousand, be used as follows:
Dividend to shareholders, SEK 3 per share SEK 29,250 thousand
To be carried forward as retained earnings SEK 107,771 thousand
Total SEK 137,021 thousand
The meeting reelected the board members Mr Lars-Goran Andren, Dr Gordon Edge,
Mr Tom Erixon, Dr Ulf Jonsson, Mr Donald R Parfet, Mr Mats Pettersson and
Dr Marc Van Regenmortel and elected Mrs Donna Janson as new member of the board.
The unions had nominated Mrs Anna Hansson and Dr Markku Hamalainen as their
representatives on the board and Mr Hans Sjobom and Mrs Anette Persson as
deputies.
The meeting decided that an auditing firm should be appointed auditor, that
remuneration should be paid pursuant to approved invoice and that the auditing
firm PricewaterhouseCoopers AB be re-elected for the period up until the end of
the annual general meeting of shareholders held during the year 2008.
The meeting decided to authorize the chairman of the board to convene
representatives of at least the three, as per September 30 each year, largest
owners of the company, who are not directors of the board, to be members of the
nominations committee together with the chairman of the board for the time until
the next annual general meeting of shareholders. Should any of the
aforementioned owners abstain from participation in the nominations committee,
the next owner in terms of size shall be asked to participate instead. When it
constitutes itself, the committee shall elect a chairman for the committee. The
composition of the committee shall be announced in connection with publication
of the company's interim report for the third quarter each year. The members of
the committee shall receive no remuneration. Before the annual general meeting
of shareholders, the nominations committee shall make proposals on the number of
board directors and deputy board directors, remuneration to the board and
election of board directors and, where appropriate, deputy board directors and
remuneration for and election of auditors.
Cautionary Statement
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
which, by their nature, involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to
events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a
number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
About Biacore
Biacore is a global market leader in Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technology
based systems with its own sales operations in the U.S., across Europe, Japan,
Australia and New Zealand. A strong patent portfolio protects Biacore's SPR
technology, which gives unique real-time insights into biomolecular
interactions. Target groups for the Company's products consist primarily of
medical and life science research laboratories and pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies around the world. Biacore is focusing on drug discovery
and development as its prime areas for future growth. The Company currently has
seven systems on the market, the most important of which are: Biacore(r)S51 for
applications downstream of high-throughput screening (HTS) including rapid
characterization of HTS hits and comprehensive pre-clinical evaluation of lead
compounds, Biacore(r)3000, which offers flexibility in key life science research
and drug discovery applications upstream of HTS, and Biacore(r)C which is
specifically designed for compliant concentration analysis of biopharmaceuticals
in GLP/GMP applications. A new SPR array system, which will provide higher
information content, is expected to reach the market in 2004.
Based in Uppsala, Sweden, the Company is listed on Stockholmsborsen and Nasdaq
in the U.S. In 2003 the Company had sales of SEK 515.5 million and an operating
income of SEK 29.5 million.
Further information on Biacore can be found on the web: www.biacore.com.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Dated: May 10, 2004
Biacore International AB (publ)
By: Lars-Olov Forslund
Name: Lars-Olov Forslund
Title: Chief Financial Officer